


Conspiring

by maplestreet83



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Birthday, F/M, Friendship, Lucas and El conspiring behind Mike's back, Surprises, but only in effort to surprise him for his birthday, i love all of their friendships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:29:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21952981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maplestreet83/pseuds/maplestreet83
Summary: Mike’s 16th birthday is coming up and as far as he’s aware, El won’t be able to come down to Hawkins to celebrate it with him. But El and Lucas know better.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper & Lucas Sinclair, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Lucas Sinclair & Mike Wheeler
Comments: 9
Kudos: 61





	Conspiring

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thenewromantics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenewromantics/gifts).



> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! Here's a little fic to celebrate some of my favorite dynamics and friendships in the show. And I know you love them too Kate, so I hope you enjoy it! Hope your holiday time is wonderful and the new year happy!

"Okay, talk to you tomorrow then, love you, bye!" Mike said, trying to sound as cheerful and unbothered as he could as he hung up the phone after a call with El. He'd hurried home after school to have time to call her before his shift at RadioShack started, not wanting to wait until he got home that night. His sixteenth birthday was coming up in a week and El had said she would ask Joyce if it was possible for her to come over to celebrate it, just for the weekend. It was a lot to ask, given that both Will and Joyce were going to be busy and so couldn't come with her or drive her, so she would have the bus all the way to Hawkins on her own. And this ended up being why Joyce hadn't let her. 

"It's just the timing, everyone being busy," El had explained him on the phone as he listened, slumping to lean against the wall of the hallway as disappointment filled him. 

"I'm sorry, Mike," she'd said, again and again, her tone genuine and apologetic. 

"But Spring Break's only a couple weeks away, we'll all be coming over then and we can celebrate your birthday properly!" she added, doing her best to cheer him up and he had agreed, saying it was fine and it was no big deal. The last thing he wanted was to make El feel bad, as it really wasn’t her fault at all. But after hanging up and starting to head out the door again to go to work, Mike couldn't help but walk with his shoulders a little more slumped and his expression a little more sour as usual as he picked up his bike and started to make his way along Maple Street. He had let himself get his hopes up over the past day, and now the disappointment weighed heavy on him. 

"That excited to go to work, huh?" Mike looked up and saw Lucas, just getting out of his car on the Sinclair driveway. He'd already turned sixteen and got his license and a car as the first one in the party. These days he gave Mike a ride to school more often than not, and when they happened to work same shifts at the RadioShack, they'd carpool too. That wasn't the case today, as Lucas had baseball practice on Tuesdays and didn't work. 

"Yeah, just thrilled," Mike answered, stopping his bike at the curb, leaning his arms over the handlebars. 

"No practice today?" he asked and Lucas shook his head, leaning in to get his backpack and sports stuff from the backseat of the car. 

"Nah, Coach Kernley called in sick at the middle of the day. So looks like I've got a free night."

"Could you just rub it in my face a little more? I think you missed a spot?" Mike pointed out, gesturing over at his face. Lucas shut the car door, swinging his backpack over his shoulder and his eyebrows rising in challenge. 

"Well you know I was thinking about making popcorn and playing Atari all night, could also order a pizza and…" he started to explain but Mike groaned at him, lifting up his middle finger at him as he started to pedal away. 

"Screw you!" 

"Yeah yeah, see you at 7:45 tomorrow!" Lucas yelled back and Mike waved at him in acknowledgement before biking away. 

Lucas huffed out a laugh before turning to walk up the driveway and into his house. He called out that he was home, but the house seemed empty as he walked in, going to drop off his stuff before going to the kitchen, opening the fridge door. Picking up a jug of orange juice and taking a swig of it, he looked around, wondering how he would actually spend his rare night off. With work and practice and other after school stuff he rarely had an afternoon where he could just hangout by himself. Maybe he could call Dustin, or Max and ask if they wanted to come over to play Atari? He put the orange juice back into the fridge and looked over at the phone on the wall of the kitchen, weighing his options. But suddenly he remembered he had someone else he needed to call today. They had agreed on him calling after his practice was over, but with it getting canceled, now was as good a time as ever. 

Lucas walked over to the phone, picking up the receiver and punching in the number he had memorized over the past year and a half. The line rung for a second and he wondered if he should’ve just waited, maybe she was busy. But then she answered the phone:

“Lucas, hi!” El said, sounding surprised but happy.

“Don’t you have practice?” she asked.

“Yeah, but it got canceled for today, so I figured I’d call now. I mean, if that’s okay with you and you’re not busy?” Lucas explained.

“Oh no, it’s fine, I’m at home, called Mike just now actually, to tell him the sad news,” El explained and in her tone Lucas could hear the air quotes she was making around the last words. 

“Well that explains why he was looking real bummed just now,” Lucas said.

“He did?” El asked, her voice filled with worry.

“I feel so bad, maybe we shouldn’t go forward with the plan after all,” she started to wonder but Lucas shook his head, saying:

“No, it’s a great plan! He’s gonna be bummed out for a bit but I’m sure he’s gonna forget all about it when we surprise him at his house on Friday.”

“You sure?” El asked, still sounding apprehensive.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Lucas assured her.

“Besides, you were the one to propose the plan, you can’t chicken out now,” he pointed out, a grin spreading to his face as he remembered back to last weekend, a rainy Saturday when El had called him and asked if he could help her with something. They’d spent the last couple of days hatching out the details of the plan, and today it had been put into motion as El had called Mike to let him know that she couldn’t come to his birthday.

“So, me and Joyce are going to buy the bus tickets tomorrow, it was the seven pm one, right?” El started up after a moment of silence on the line, and Lucas nodded.

“Yeah. My night shift ends at eight so when I ask Mike to switch with me, it would give me plenty of time to come and get you from the station,” he explained.

“Have you figured out what you’re gonna tell him to get him to change shifts?”

“Not yet, but I’ll figure it out. Say I have family stuff or something.”

“And you’ve talked to Mike’s mom? That it’s okay for me to stay there?” El asked.

"I've asked my mom to ask her and she's on it. And if Mike's mom says no, you can for sure stay here. I think my mom is more excited about the surprise than we are," Lucas commented and he heard El laugh through the phone. 

"Good to know," she answered. They spoke for a few more minutes, figuring out the details of El's trip but then she needed to go work on homework. Before she did, she wondered:

"And you're sure Mike wasn't too upset? I know he'll be happy after the surprise, but I feel bad lying to him."

“He’ll be fine. And it’s just for a week, I’ll help him get his mind off it, don’t worry,” Lucas assured her and he could hear her sigh in relief.

“Thanks,” El said.

“But after we’ve got the bus tickets, I’ll call you again,” she added.

“Okay, talk to you then, bye!”

“Bye!”

“The Friday night shift? Come on dude, really?”

“Sorry, man, we’re all going to my grandma’s, I can’t get myself out of it,” Lucas explained, hoping his lie was coming off as genuine. Mike groaned in annoyance, slumping in his chair at the cafeteria lunch table.

“I get it, but making me work on my birthday? Real harsh,” Mike said, leaning forward again and continuing to eat his piece of pizza.

“Last I checked your birthday wasn’t until Saturday,” Max pointed out, sipping her Coke and Mike shot her an annoyed look from under his brows and messy bangs, barely lifting up his head from where he was taking a bite of his pizza. Max lifted her hands up in defense.

“Just saying, you have your birthday off already, you don’t have to worry about that!” she explained, and Mike rolled his eyes, focusing back on his lunch.

“And we’re all coming over to your house on Saturday, right?” Dustin confirmed from his seat next to Mike. Mike just nodded, mouth full of pizza.

“And then to the movies,” Lucas added.

“Want me to get us the tickets when I’m going over there later?” Dustin asked, starting to peel off the wrapper of his granola bar.

“Sure,” Mike said, reaching for his bottle of water.

“So four tickets then,” Max confirmed, finishing her can of Coke.

“No, five, with…” Dustin started but Lucas kicked him under the table. He yelped and Mike turned to look at him, confused.

“With who?” Mike asked, his eyes going from Dustin to Lucas, who bit his tongue, trying his all not to look suspicious.

“I mean with umm…” Dustin started, his eyes wide as they darted around, trying to think of an explanation.

“If umm your little sister wanted to come along, or Lucas’s,” he settled on and Lucas cringed on the inside. It was a save but a dumb one.

“To see… Evil Dead 2?” Mike asked, slow and even more confused.

“Yeah, if your mom needed her to tag along or something,” Dustin explained, taking a bite of his granola bar, looking away from Mike.

“Okay…” Mike voiced, still confused. Lucas wondered if he should say something, but before he could think of something, Max saved the situation, speaking up and changing the topic:

“So you’re set on Evil Dead 2? That Nightmare on Elm Street sequel is still playing, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Lethal Weapon again.” 

And with that, the focus of the conversation shifted to a heated debate on movies, and Lucas could relax again, the plan still remaining a surprise. 

The Friday before Mike’s birthday finally arrived, bringing with it the worst storm in months. With it being almost April, there was no snow, but freezing wind and rain plummeting down, every step you had to take outside taking huge effort. Lucas could hardly see the road through the rain, the windshield wipers, and the darkening night as he drove to the bus station in town, going to pick up El. She’d called him that morning, confirming the plan was still a go, and said she’d be on the seven o’clock bus. It was only half past six when Lucas parked in front of the small station, but he’d been anxious to get going, wanting the plan to go perfectly. He sat in the car, his fingers drumming the steering wheel, listening to the radio he could just about hear over the heavy thrum of the rain hitting the car and waited, looking out at the road leading out of town and onto the wide-open fields. It was fifteen minutes to seven, then five minutes, and then it was fifteen minutes after and the bus still wasn’t there. Lucas was truly getting restless now, wondering if something had happened, causing the bus to be late. It was probably just the horrible weather, he’d seen for himself how careful and slow he had had to drive, it would be the same for the bus. But when it was half past seven and the bus still wasn’t there, Lucas felt like he had to do something. Because the plan was for him to bring El to the Wheeler house, where Mike’s mom was cooking dinner to celebrate. If Mike got to the house after his shift was done and she wasn’t there, he’d definitely suspect something. Lucas looked around on the empty street around him, trying to figure out what to do. He needed to buy them more time. Spotting a payphone a couple of steps away, he got out the car, lifting up the hood of his coat to braze against the rain. Quickly stepping into the phone booth and shutting the door behind him, he tried to wrack his brain for someone to call to help out. He’d call Mrs. Wheeler to let her know they’d be late, but he also could use someone stalling Mike from getting home so early. After weighing his options, he dialed Max’s number.

“You need me to do what now?” she asked, confused.

“El’s bus is late, someone has to stall Mike so he doesn’t get home before we do,” Lucas explained.

“I got that, but how would I stall him? Got a plan for that?” she asked again, and Lucas screwed his eyes shut, trying to quickly come up with something.

“You could go into RadioShack just before close and be a difficult customer?”

“I don’t have anything I need from there though?” Max replied and then there were clattering sounds as Lucas guessed she was moving around in her room, going through her things. 

“I mean…” she then started.

“I could say my Walkman is broken or something? It has been doing some weird skipping lately.”

“Could work. Just exaggerate a little at it should be fine,” Lucas said, nodding into the phone. Max okayed as a response and then was quiet for a second, sounding like she was moving around again.

“You’re going to have to make it up for me though, having to go out there into that downpour,” she commented, sighing as she seemed to be looking out her window.

“I will! We can go out this weekend, see Lethal Weapon again?” Lucas suggested and he could hear her smile as she answered:

“Sounds good! Alright, wish me luck going out there!”

“Good luck, see you later!” Lucas said and as they hung up he sighed, peering out onto the rainy road again, hoping to see the bus. They were going to cut it close, but he was determined to get this to work. Both El and Mike deserved it.

"You know what, I need to go by Lucas's to get his Chemistry notes. He said he'd borrow them for me, I didn't get what we've been talking about this week," Max said, turning to follow Mike on her bike as they turned on the street leading away from downtown. Mike glanced at her from over his shoulder, letting out a frustrated sigh. Ever since Max had appeared at the shop half an hour ago it had been non-stop. First it had been her broken Walkman, then her asking about the different VCR players for some weird reason, and then now she seemed intent on following him. Mike would say the two of them were friends, they'd gotten over their middle school hostility but then she pulled stuff like this and he really needed to bite his tongue to not snap at her. 

"Isn't he at his grandma's? How are you gonna get into his house?" Mike asked, turning ahead to focus on cycling forwards. He tugged his hood up better, the rain was nowhere as strong as it had been earlier, but it was still consistent. 

"Oh, yeah, right, he is, umm…" Max sputtered from behind him. 

"I can borrow yours then?" she asked, catching up to him on her bike. 

"I guess? Couldn't you just wait for tomorrow?" Mike asked her, furrowing his brow. 

"Nah, I'll just get them now, we're already on our way."

"Okay then, suit yourself," Mike said with a shrug, checking his watch. His shift had ended at eight but with Max slowing him closing up by asking him questions, it was already almost half past now. He just wanted to get home already, to crash into his bed or on the basement couch and watch some TV. 

"Oh hey wait just a second!" Max called out after a while, swerving her bike quickly across the street, cutting Mike off. He screeched on the brakes, turning to see where she was going. 

"Just remembered my mom said we're out of… Matches. She asked me to buy some," Max explained, guiding her bike towards the gas station convenience store. 

"What? Now? Can't you…" Mike asked, getting exasperated now. This was getting ridiculous. If he didn't know better, he'd think she was annoying him on purpose. 

"I'll just run in to get them, just wait, I'll be right back!" Max explained, dropping down her bike and running into the store. Mike was left standing there on the road with his bike, spreading his arms in annoyance. What the? 

It was getting close to nine when Mike finally biked up his driveway, Max trailing close behind him. 

"Just wait here, I'll get my notes from my room," he said, dropping his bike down to the ground and turning back to glance at Max. She was walking her bike behind him, craning her neck and looking in through the windows of house. What was up with her today? 

"Yeah, sure, but umm can I use your bathroom before I head back?" she asked, and when he didn't immediately say no, she dropped her bike too and pretty much marched into the house before him. 

"Hey, what are you doing, can I just...?" Mike started, rushing in after her. What was she doing, barging into his house like that? But before he could ask her again, he had rushed into the living room, and stopped on his tracks. Because first, he could smell dinner cooking even though it was so late, and second, he could see Lucas standing by the doorway to the kitchen, eyeing him like he was guilty of something. 

"Wait, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at…" Mike started again, but he couldn't finish his question as the words flew away from him as he saw who stepped into view from behind Lucas. 

"Hi, Mike! Happy birthday!" El said, her voice bright and happy and Mike's mouth fell open as he took her in, her slightly wet hair curling around her face and her smiling face beaming in the soft light as she was somehow, inexplicably, standing in his kitchen. He wanted to ask a million questions, he wanted to run to her and lift her in his arms, to kiss her, to make sure she was really there. But for now, the only thing he could do was blink and let out a dumb-sounding "Hi!" 

"I said this idea of yours was bad, you broke him," Max pointed out with a snort from where she was standing in the hallway to the kitchen. 

"What idea?" Mike asked, his gaze flitting from Max to El - god he still couldn't believe she was actually there - to Lucas. 

"It was El's idea, I've just helped her out," Lucas said, lifting up his hands defensively. Mike blinked again, looking at El and finally gaining the control of his limbs again, slowly starting to walk across the room. 

"You guys have been conspiring against me?" he asked, laughter filling his voice. El and Lucas glanced at each other with matching smirks before El shrugged. 

"Maybe. But it was all for your birthday," she said, turning her chin up a bit to keep her eyes on his as he reached her, stopping a couple of feet from her. 

"Thank you," he said, his heart squeezing as he looked down at her, feeling her reaching her hand to gently hold onto his arm. 

"You're welcome. Happy birthday," she said, her voice so soft and her eyes bright and full of adoration he couldn't help but to lean down and set a kiss on her lips. It had only been two months since he'd last kissed her, but it could've very well been two years, two decades. He felt her smile against him as she reached her hand to brush against his cheek. They pulled away after a moment, but only just a little, as Mike had set his hands on her waist and wanted to keep her close, to make sure she was actually there with him. 

"You're welcome," Lucas pointed out from beside them and they both turned to look at him, seeing him smirking at them, his brows raised. 

"Thank you," Mike told him, El looking between them with a wide toothy smile. And he really was grateful, all the weirdness of the past week was making sense now, and even if it didn't, it didn't matter to him. Not as long as he was able to spend his birthday with all the people he loved.


End file.
